Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with West Side Story’s Ilda Mason

Actress-dancer Ilda Mason is a rising star who is making her feature film debut as Luz in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.

A native of Panamá, Ilda got her start on the stage in productions like Peter Pan, A Chrous Line, and went on to win Season 2 of Panamá’s Dancing with the Stars.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Ilda about her journey from Panamá to Hollywood, West Side Story, and more!

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts?
Ilda: I was very lucky that my parents allowed me to explore a lot as I was growing up. I started with ballet, and then I went to where my curiosity led me. I tried aikido, then clarinet, dancing, and many, many things. Every single extracurricular activity that you could think of at school, I was in. I realized later on when I was in tenth grade that I missed being on stage, specifically.

That year, I also did my very first musical. It was Grease—we did it in high school—even though it was a small role. I was like, “Wait, this is it. This is singing, dancing, and acting. This is what I love.” I’ve also always felt a huge inspiration when I would go to the movies and when I would watch trailers. I love trailers. I’m not sure why, but I’m always thinking, “How do they do that? I wish I could be a part of something like that.” It was in the tenth grade that I found that desire.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Ilda: The first thing that comes to mind is one of my best friends. Her name is Tiffany Toh. She inspired me to dare to audition for big things. I met her on the non-Equity tour of Cinderella. Until then, I believed that I couldn’t audition for Broadway shows because I was an immigrant. I still didn’t have my green card. I was non-Equity. I knew the steps that it would take for me to be able to be on Broadway as an immigrant. She booked Miss Saigon, the Broadway revival, that year. Without her saying anything to me, it clicked in my mind. I was like, “Oh, wow. If I want to be on Broadway, I have to go to the call. If I feel like something is right for me, I have to try.”

That’s something that really left a mark on me. It motivated me to be like, “No, you have to go. You have to.” I would say that she inspired me to give myself a chance to audition for those things.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your career. When you look back, is there a moment that stands out to you?
Ilda: Other than West Side Story, I’m going to say winning Dancing with the Stars in Panamá. I did that for two seasons. Winning meant the absolute world to me. I couldn’t believe it. It was a lot of hard work. It was incredible.

The second thing was getting my green card. I had already done so many professional jobs, been working at these great theaters. However, earning my green card took years and years, and a lot of money. Between the lawyers and everything, it was a lot. That’s one of the big things that I always think about.

PC: You’re one of the stars of West Side Story, and you’ve had a long tenure with this story in particular. What has it been like for you adapting it from the stage to the screen?
Ilda: It’s been a wonderful journey. It felt very much like theater because we did extensive rehearsals. We did rehearsal all together in a big studio. The process was basically the same. What changed was that we had Steven Spielberg come in with his iPhone to set up some shots—that was surreal. We worked with Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori. We were recording for the soundtrack. Gustavo Dudamel conducted the orchestra. It was one of the moments where it all felt so surreal.

The biggest difference is with theater, you know how many shows you have left. When we were shooting, every single take could be the last one. We never knew. Every single one needed to be perfect because it could be what we used in the film.

It was a surreal, very odd feeling. I realized that when we were doing “The Dance at the Gym.” It was a very long dance sequence. As we were shooting it, we would do it in sections. It was like, “Okay, great. Moving on.” I’m never going to be able to do that dance again, not with everyone here in that capacity. That was one of the biggest differences.

PC: Did you feel any pressure bringing this story to life on the screen?
Ilda: West Side Story is such a masterpiece. It’s such a gift to be able to be a part of this. This is something that I am really grateful for. When I came here as an immigrant, everyone was like, “You’re Latina.” I was like, “Yes, I am.” They were like, “You should be in West Side Story. You should be in In the Heights. You should be in all these projects that share our Latin American culture.”

It was such a huge gift, such an honor. I was asked the other day, “What would you change about West Side Story?” The truth is nothing. It’s such a timeless story. It’s so relevant today, as it was sixty years ago. It’s the biggest honor to be a part of it.

PC: The film has been incredibly well received. What do you hope they take away?
Ilda: I hope they take away the message that we’re all human, that love can conquer all, and we need to show more empathy towards each other. We need to be open to conversations. More than talking, it’s about listening; we do need to do more listening in our lives and lean less on leading with our point of view.

We need to listen a bit more to the other side. I love that in the film, you can take a deeper look into these characters’ lives and what they’re going through. This is a story about survival; it’s bigger than just one person. I really hope that people take the message that we’re all human. We should listen to each other and have a little bit more empathy towards each other.

To keep up with Ilda, follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Watch West Side Story in theaters now.